But when you’ve got a nasty cut that needs stitches, you’re going to be glad you packed that extra suture kit.

But for those who don’t know what makes a good suture kit, we’ve compiled this article to help you find the right one. We’ve sorted through all the cheap and crappy ones, and found the best of the best, so you don’t have to.

And if you’re not familiar with the art of sewing human flesh, we provide a brief how-to for stitching up a cut. And even, a couple of ways to improvise sutures in a pinch.

We’ll be covering the following suture kit topics in this article:

What Is a Suture Kit?

Why Suturing Wounds is So Important

The Best Survival Suture Kits For Survival

How To Suture (brief introduction)

Improvising a Suture In A Pinch

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What Is a Suture Kit?

If you’ve made it this far into the article and still don’t know what a suture kit is; I owe you an explanation.

In the medical world, a “laceration kit” is a set of tools and supplies used to close an open dermatological wound. That is to say, it’s a medical sewing kit, for sewing up human skin.

They’re a staple for medical preparation and good for survival preparedness.

But the process of suturing a wound closed is a serious mini-surgery. And it takes both extensive research and practice to suture successfully.

Do NOT buy a suture kit unless you plan on learning how to use it, and are fully prepared to do so. Otherwise, its a useless piece of survival gear.

Attempting to close an open wound, when you have no earthly idea what you’re doing, can be a quick way to go from bad to worse.

Why Suturing Wounds is So Important

Stitching (or “suturing”) open wounds make it possible for a laceration to heal faster and properly.

Often, if an open wound that requires stitches is left untreated, it will open up again. Without stitches, accidental bumps, scrubs, or rubs will pop a weak scab back open.

This prolongs the healing process and makes the wound more susceptible to infection.

But by suturing the wound closed, you’re providing extra support to hold the skin together. That way so it can heal at maximum speed and efficiency.

This is particularly useful in the wild or in a survival situation where mobility is critical. A sutured cut will stay closed and continue to heal, despite the less-than-ideal conditions. Whilemoving with an open gash or wound is both painful and dangerous.

It can impair your ability to survive, and deplete your limited but vital energy reserves.

The Best Survival Suture Kits For Survival

Suture kits are one of those survival items you don’t really need until you really freaking need one. It very well could sit unused in your backpack for months, even years, without being touched.

But one day, when your hand slips on a survival knife or you gash your leg on a sharp rock, it could make the difference between life and death.

That being said, you want one that you can depend on.

If you pull a suture kit out in your time of need, it shouldn’t be missing any pieces. Or the tools shouldn’t be too cheap to use effectively.

Not just that, but there are a lot of needles types and suture threads for various lacerations. It even depends on what kind of cut you’re dealing with and how thick the skin in that area of the body is.

But, no matter what type of needle or weight of suture thread you are using, the basic technique is the same. Here is a brief overview of how to go about sewing someone up:

1. Assess The Injury

First of all, is this something you can handle? Really?

If not, it might be best to wait for a medical professional.

Is the cut is too massive for you to stitch up on your own? Seek medical attention.

Is there’s too much blood exiting the wound and you can’t work with it? Seek medical attention.

Are there are foreign objects in the wound you can’t get out? Seek medical attention.

Is it a cut you feel confident you can deal with? Go for it.

Sometimes, though, you’re not going to have much choice in the matter. In a worst-case scenario, where professional medical help is not an option, you may have to try or die…

2. Prepare Everything First

Make yourself (or your patient) as comfortable as possible.

Sterilize all the materials with a sterilizing solution or hydrogen peroxide. Clean the wound with iodine and rinse it with saline solution.

Make sure your needle is affixed to your suture thread, and a knot is tied at the end of it.

Grasp the needle with the needle grabbers vertically (or hold it if you do not have needle grabbers).

Apply a local anesthetic if you have one, to mitigate the pain. If not, warn your patient this is about to hurt like hell. You might have them bit down on a stick to prevent them from breaking their teeth.

3. Start Stitching

Start at the end of the cut closest to the patient’s face, and work away.

Pierce the skin as close to the cut as possible. Try doing this without hemorrhaging or compromising the strength of the stitch.

Loop it down through the flesh, nearly as deep as the cut. You may have to stabilize the skin with a tissue stabilizer to puncture the needle through both sides.

When the tip of the needle is poking out, grasp it with forceps, and pull it through the other side gently. You should try and cause as little trauma to the skin as possible.

The needle should always penetrate the skin at a 90-degree angle to minimize entry wounds. And should also exit perpendicular to reduce exit wounds.

Both sides of the cut should end up looking like mirror images of each other.

4. Tie The Knot

Once you’ve run your suture through, fasten the loop in place with a knot. This is called an “interrupted suture” when you tie off each individual loop.

There are knot tying devices doctors use, but in survival, you won’t have access to such equipment. In that case, the square knot is traditionally used.

Realistically, the knot itself doesn’t matter much, as long as you can trust it won’t fall out or loosen up over time. Stitch every loop through, individually tying each closed as you go along.

Snugly tug on each one to make sure they are not too loose.

5. Disinfect Again, Bandage

Just for the sake of keeping it clean, iodine and saline rinse your recently sealed cut.

The most significant danger of suturing a wound shut is an infection, so do everything you can to prevent that.

Once everything is sterile, bandage the injury with gauze and medical tape. Replace the bandage and clean the wound once a day until it has healed and stops oozing.

6. Removing The Sutures

Once the wound is healed, you are going to have to take out the stitches you put in.

This is not a particularly complex, painful, or delicate procedure. But, you should be careful not to damage the freshly healed flesh.

Using sharp disinfected scissors and tweezers, cut the individually stitched loops. Pull them gently through and out of the skin.

Wipe the wound down with alcohol when done. And that is it! You’ve been stitched, healed, and fixed and now you’re good to go.

Here’s an excellent video showing you several more stitching methods you can practice.

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Improvising a Suture In A Pinch

Even if you own suture kits and have practiced, you might not have what you need in a survival situation, which means you may be forced to improvise.

That’s okay, because, in fact, there are some very effective makeshift sutures out there….

The Super Glue Suture

Cyanoacrylate (aka “super glue”) was widely used by medics in Vietnam to suture wounds shut. And it was highly effective in the field.

Sadly, the FDA never approved it for legitimate use in the states. It was due to fears that the chemicals contained within them were not safe to put in the body. So, the technique fell by the wayside.

But superglue still works wonders when it comes to closing wounds.

It’s a necessary item for any first aid kit, medical kit, and definitely in any suture kit. Super glue is an easy medical-hack that can mimic full-on surgical stitches reasonably well.

I recommend keeping it in mind throughout any survival or wilderness emergency.

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The Duct Tape Suture

Duct tape is far from ideal, but it works if you have an open wound and you need to shut it ASAP. And if all you have is a shiny roll of duct tape, use it.

It will work as a makeshift suture, but it’s not going to last very long.

Be careful not to cut off circulation with it, though. It’s best to rip the tape into narrow strips and place them across the wound like steps on a ladder.

Then fortify those makeshift stitches with long strips that run the length of the wound. These should be laid on top of the shorter individual strips.

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The Final Word

Suture kits come in handy in the most dangerous and most dire survival situations.

However, they will not serve you unless you really need them, but when you really freaking need them, they will serve you well.

Without a proper suture kit and the knowledge of how to stitch a wound, you may find yourself up a creek without a paddle. Bleeding out and wishing you had bought and packed yourself that survival suture kit.

About Will Brendza

Will Brendza is an American writer who spends most of his free time bogged down in fearless and wild wilderness adventures. He is a student of science, a lover of nature and a believer in Earthly stewardship.

When he isn't involved with brave acts of reckless lunacy, he can be found at craft breweries, deep in the Colorado wilderness or nowhere at all.

Comments

Good info. A good medical book is ” The ship’s medicine chest and first aid at sea.” It is carried on merchant marine ship’s that don’t have a physician. In a dire emergency, a curved carpet needle could be used to suture. Horsehair ( mane or tail) or unwaxed dental floss for the ligatures. To sterilize everything, use a pressure cooker. Fifteen minutes at fifteen pounds. I would leave a little bit of the wound open for drainage. I would start a ten-day course of antibiotics as a further precaution. Penicillin can still be obtained at rural feed n seed stores ( for use on livestock only)